The Guardian
by Cassidy Alice
Summary: She had done crazy things before, but nothing like this. She wanted answers and she was going to get them, one way or another.
1. The Guardian Angel

Disclaimer: i own nothing :(

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Chapter I: The Guardian Angel

She should have been dead. That was all she could think of as she stared blankly at the Fire Nation officials before her. They were discussing something about the colonies in the Earth Kingdom, but she wasn't listening to them at the present. All she could remember was her trip there. The journey to the palace had been uneventful, a mere three mile walk. But it was her trip up the mountain to the secret chamber that had left wondering.

The path had been treacherous, a narrow, winding lane that hugged the mountain slope. At some parts, she had inched her way across, her back pressed against the rocky flank of the dormant volcano and at others, she had been able to walk normally. But about three quarters of the way up the mountain, the rock had given way and she had managed to grab onto a fragile tree branch. She knew it was going to snap and that the next official up the mountain would probably find her body splayed on the ground, thousands of feet below, all the bones broken, and no sign of being alive. She _should _have had died, because the branch _had_ snapped, but much to her surprise, she had landed on a ledge that had protruded from the side of the mountain. She was positive it hadn't been there before but she also knew no one had been near her, so someone couldn't have saved her using earthbending. The entire incident puzzled her because her life should have ended but she was miraculously saved and there was no indication of who (or what) saved her.

"Katara, the meeting's over," She glanced up at Fire Lord Zuko and absently nodded. "Are you okay?" Zuko asked, following her out of the meeting room.

"Fine," she muttered, staring blankly ahead as she walked to the exit.

"You seem like you're in a daze," Zuko said. "You weren't paying attention at the meeting, were you?"

"I was," she insisted.

"Good," Zuko said, hoping she noted the sarcasm in his voice. "I just signed a contract that gave the Fire Navy the right to tear up the Southern Water Tribe and build a new colony."

"That's great news," she replied in the same monotone voice.

Zuko groaned. "You didn't hear anything I said. What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," she replied in a passive voice. "I'm fine, really."

"Yeah and I'm an airbender," Zuko snorted. "You're hiding something."

"Were there any earthbenders here today?"

"Nope. You were the only person who wasn't a firebender."

The twenty-one year old water bender sighed. "Oh. Just curious."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Why? I thought you and Aang were…"

"I haven't seen him in seven years," Katara interrupted. "So no, we're not."

"You don't even know what I was going to say," Zuko protested.

"I haven't seen him in seven years," Katara repeated. "So does it matter what you were going to say?"

"I guess not," Zuko admitted. "He's here in the Fire Nation, you know?" They were outside now and the wind was whipping Katara's loose hair into her face so he couldn't see her reaction.

She gave a dismissive nod. "That's nice."

"Don't you want to see him?"

"I'd love to see all my old friends again but I'm sure he's busy and I've got work to do too."

Zuko sighed. He didn't tell Katara that he thought she was just avoiding the young Avatar but he had a feeling that for all she said, she really did want to see him.

It was late by the time Katara got home. The moon was high in the sky and a light breeze was drifting in through the open window. Katara stared outside for a moment before closing the window and drawing the blinds shut. For some reason, she couldn't stand reminders of him. Her house was devoid of decoration. Simplicity had been something she had become fond of over the years, possible because everywhere she turned she saw reminders of the life she could have had if her friends hadn't left and if she hadn't taken up a job to fill the void in her life.

"I think I'm losing it," she whispered to no one in particular as she curled up on her bed. And for the first time in a long time, she cried because she didn't know what was wrong with her.

* * *

The balls were arguably the least favorite part of her visit to the Fire Nation but Zuko was expected to give one and being something of an ambassador or representative of her people, she was expected to attend. She was glad, however, that attendance was all that was required of her, because she never would have danced in the first place. The first ball, countless young men asked her for a dance and by the time the event ended, she had a sore throat from politely declining. By the end of the first year, the men had learned enough to warn newcomers.

"Don't dance with that one," One man had said, pointing in her direction.

"Why?" His companion demanded. "She's like an angel; she's beautiful."

"Yeah but this is her eighth time here and she hasn't danced with a single man yet. Poor thing, she must be waiting for someone special."

Katara gave a bitter laugh as she stared at herself in the mirror. Poor thing indeed. The men had asked her why she wouldn't dance and she had shrugged and said she didn't care to dance. The first time she said that, it had been a lie. She would have loved to dance, just not with any of _those_ men. After that, it became the truth. She didn't care because the one person she wanted to dance with, the one person she knew was at every single ball just like she was, never once offered to dance with her. As a matter of fact, Katara realized, she never even saw him. And the pain was beyond imagination.

She wondered why she wore that necklace; it seemed to cause more pain than anything else because it reminded her so much of him (possibly because he had made it for her all those years ago). Its simplicity was a stark contrast to the dress she was wearing, but she couldn't bring herself to part with it. Her mother's necklace was usually wrapped around her wrist but she had placed it in her drawer for safe keeping. She couldn't explain why she kept the other necklace though. It was her only reminder of Aang, the only reminder she permitted herself to have but she couldn't explain why on that one night, she couldn't take it off for a few hours. Perhaps it was because she was just used to wearing it or perhaps it was because she just couldn't bring herself to part with it even for a few hours. She really couldn't say.

The ball was noisier than usual owing to the large amount of children running around. Once, Katara would have found their antics amusing, but now, she couldn't stand them. So she spent most of the evening sitting with Mai and talking.

"I don't know why Zuko makes me come," Mai said, sourly. "I hate these things."

"Who are you kidding?" Katara said. "You said last time you loved dancing with him."

"Dancing yes," Mai agreed. "I don't mind dancing. But I can't stand just sitting here."

"Then go find him and make him dance," Katara said, staring at a little girl dance with her baby brother.

"I can't; he's talking to some official. What's your excuse?" Mai demanded. "Isn't seven years of moping enough?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Get a grip, Katara. You can't spend the rest of your life like this." Mai pointed out.

"I'm perfectly happy with my life," Katara responded, an edge to her voice.

"He's here, you know?" Mai said. "He's been coming to these stupid things for the past seven years. Why don't you just try and find him. I bet he doesn't know you're here."

Katara was about to reply but she realized Mai had stalked off to talk to Zuko. Sighing, she got up and walked around in the courtyard. The monstrous size of the courtyard brightened her mood a bit. The courtyard was so big she was unlikely to run into anyone and at least here she wouldn't have to endure all those pleasantries and act like she was having the time of her life. A couple of firebenders, most likely young officers in the Fire Navy, were demonstrating skills to each other. From the path, Katara could make out bursts of orange every now and then as the men summoned and extinguished fire from their fingertips. She knew fire could be dangerous and she wasn't too keen on getting burned again so she decided to stray from the path and walk to the opposite end of the courtyard. But that was a mistake.

It all happened so fast that Katara couldn't say _what_ exactly had happened. One firebender had (unknowingly) firebended in her direction. He had been demonstrating a particularly difficult skill which required lots of fire and so he had turned in her direction, thinking no one was there. Of course by the time he saw her, it was too late because the huge ring of fire was headed in her direction. She recalled yelling; the men were yelling at her, probably screaming for her to move before the flames engulfed her, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. All she could think about was how much it would hurt when the fire made contact with her skin.

She never knew that answer to that question, though. The earth underneath her feet suddenly churned and she was thrown back, landing on the soft grass missing the flames by mere inches. The men were by her side in an instant, helping her up and apologizing and asking if they could get her anything. Somewhat dazed, she politely turned them down and walked away as they called out to her how lucky she was. They supposed it was luck, but Katara knew better. If the ground hadn't moved her, she would have been a charred corpse lying in the middle of the royal palace's courtyard.

Later that night, as Katara sat in her room with a single candle for light, she reflected upon her incident. If the ground hadn't moved her, there was a good chance she could have been killed. But someone (she was positive it was an earthbender) had saved her. Her near-death experience made her reflect upon her life for the past seven years. To put it bluntly, she had never been a klutz. But after her friends left the South Pole, she couldn't say what had changed in her. She was often distracted and often broke things, she stumbled and tripped more and more, and she became forgetful. Once, she had sown Sokka a shirt but neglected to put buttons on it and he had been forced to stay home and wait for her to add them while their father hunted alone.

I'm probably imagining things, Katara thought, gazing out at the starlit sky. The firebenders most definitely hadn't seen the way the ground moved under her feet. They thought she had thrown herself out of the way in time. It made her wonder. Had she really witnessed the ground move beneath her? Was it even possible for the ground to move of its own accord like that? She bit her lip in confusion. She didn't know much. All she knew, though, was that she hadn't moved of her own accord and she had felt the earth quake beneath her before she had been thrown back. Sighing, she blew out the candle and crawled into bed.

It was late when Katara woke up. The crescent moon was high in the sky and the stars were twinkling brightly as she stepped outside. A cool breeze was whispering in the eaves and she wrapped her shawl tightly around herself. She was used to this routine of getting up in the middle of the night. Somehow or other, her nightmares always seemed to get the better of her. But this time, it was her memories that kept her awake. And she hated it.

For a while, she used to visit the North Pole and Western Air Temple. Sokka used to tease her and say she haunted those places but she had visited them nonetheless. Four years ago, she remembered standing on a cliff in the North Pole, gazing at the ocean. She had been attracted to something in the water so she had inched her way to the edge of the ice. She hadn't known the cliff was unstable until the ice had given way, but she hadn't fallen because a new, thicker sheet of ice had formed so quick she had almost missed it.

The Western Air Temple had been in ruins when she last went there, two years ago; it still looked like it hadn't been touched since Azula had attacked them there. Katara remembered poking around the ruins, not really looking for anything in particular, when a portion of the ceiling had given way. The chunk of ceiling with elaborate Air Nomad patterns should have crushed her but at that moment, a heavy gust of wind had blown the debris away from her while swirling dirt and dust into the air. It had all been so strange. The day hadn't been a particularly windy one, but just when Katara was in trouble, the wind had instantly picked up and "saved" her. And she had a pretty good idea where the wind came from.

Last year, she had almost landed herself in the rebellion's headquarters when she stumbled upon a dilapidated cabin in the woods where several thugs were sharpening their weapons. She probably would have gotten herself killed if the tree next to her hadn't spontaneously ignited and fallen, preventing her from reaching the cabin. In all those instances, she should have died. But she hadn't. It was like she had a guardian angel.


	2. The Guardian Angel Revealed

Chapter II: The Guardian Angel Revealed

Sokka stared sadly at his sister and sighed. It had been three months since she had returned from the Fire Nation, but she hadn't changed a bit. She was still reserved and she no longer laughed or smiled. Their father had been called away on official business so Sokka and Katara were going to spend the remainder of the summer in the Earth Kingdom but Sokka was beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea.

"This is bad," Sokka said, suddenly.

"I can make more food," Katara said quietly, making a move for the kitchen.

"No," Sokka cried, jumping up. "The food is great but I'm talking about you. You're so…you're just not you, and it's all my fault."

"Sokka, you're being crazy. It's not your…"

"You don't understand," Sokka interrupted. "It _is_ my fault. Seven years ago, when Aang dropped us off at the South Pole, he said he would visit us and we could all go see Toph or something. I liked the idea, but I told him not to come until he and Zuko finished settling everything. You were so sad when he left I thought it would be harder for you if he came back and then left again, so I told him not to come. I thought maybe you'd start acting like yourself again but I think I just ruined your life. I can understand it if you want to murder me. Actually, I'm kind of hoping you do because seeing you like this is kind of depressing."

"It's okay, Sokka. I'm not going to…"

"It's not okay," Sokka snapped. "Aang was at every one of those stupid events you went to, Katara. He didn't even talk to you because _I_ told him not to. Not because he didn't care. Doesn't it bother you?"

"Sokka, I…"

"You're not even mad?" Sokka said, miffed. "What's wrong with you, Katara? Any normal girl would have killed her brother if he did anything like what I just did."

Katara sighed. "It's been seven years, Sokka. I don't think he would wait seven years for me."

"You know that's not true. You were the closest to him," Sokka said. "You know he would."

"He's the Avatar," Katara cried. "Why would he spend seven years waiting for someone like me? He could find someone a whole lot better."

Sokka blinked in surprise. "You never used to act like you weren't good enough for him."

"I'm not trying to," Katara insisted. "I'm just being reasonable. Seven years is a long time."

"I can't believe you," Sokka fumed. "Do you like the guy or not, Katara? There's no reason or logic to this kind of thing."

"Yes, I like him," Katara snapped back in reply. "But did it ever occur to you that he doesn't _have_ to wait for me?" Sokka opened his mouth to say something but Katara was out the door before he could speak.

Katara stood on the cliff and gazed down at the river flowing hundreds of feet below her. She knew she was going insane because she could have sworn she heard a sky bison growl somewhere down below. She sighed in exasperation. A small part of her was angry at Sokka not because he had told Aang to stay away from her, but because Sokka expected her to believe that Aang hadn't moved on. She would have liked to have believed that, but logically, there was no way anyone would wait seven years for another. Then again, her logic and reason weren't all the great these days.

Thinking about Aang made her wonder about her anonymous guardian. She had been in a lot of potentially life-threatening situations in the past few years but somehow managed to make it out unscathed. Either she had many anonymous guardians, or a certain Avatar was keeping an eye on her. Katara stared at the river far below. She had done crazy things before, but nothing like this. She wanted answers and she was going to get them, no matter what it cost. If he was her guardian, he wouldn't let her fall. Slowly, she inched her way to the edge of the cliff, a few feet away. She didn't get very far before her feet became encased in the hard earth and she heard footsteps behind her.

"What are you doing?" a voice hissed. Katara shut her eyes. She was positive she was already hallucinating; the voice sounded so much like his. But her feet were free now, so opening her eyes, she gingerly took another step. This time, her feet were enclosed in ice. "Don't even think about it," the voice growled.

"I'm a waterbender," Katara said in a whisper. "Ice can't stop me."

"No kidding," the voice replied.

Katara took another step forward. Was even remotely possible that she had been right, that he really was her anonymous guardian? Wishful thinking, she told herself. Aang is still in the Fire Nation. Keep walking. One foot in front of the other, she began moving again but he grabbed her by her wrists and kept her from moving.

"Are you insane?" he demanded. "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Katara screwed her eyes shut. "There's no one there," She muttered, trying to convince herself she was seeing things. "Just a dream." But she still wasn't free and she knew that whoever had her was probably going to comment about her insanity. But much to her surprise, he laughed.

"A dream?" He repeated, unable to conceal the amusement in his voice. "If I was I dream, could I do this?" And he kissed her. Nothing could have prepared her for that. Every single thought running through her head suddenly stopped and she couldn't tell reality from a dream. When she opened her eyes, she saw a smiling Avatar.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, almost afraid of his reply.

"I'm beginning to wonder too," he muttered.

"I thought you were in the Fire Nation," Katara said.

"I would be if it didn't have to stop an insane waterbender." Katara frowned but Aang was smiling.

"How did you know I was here?" she demanded.

"Call it intuition."

"I don't believe you."

"Fine, call it Sokka."

"He doesn't know where I am either."

"I know _that _but he was getting suspicious of you so he had me follow you around."

"For how long?"

"Does it really matter?" Aang replied.

"How long?" Katara repeated.

"The last five years," Aang muttered, sheepishly.

"_Five years_?" Katara was livid now. "Why? Did he think I was suicidal or something?"

"He said he didn't trust you alone. He was going to ask Suki to keep an eye on you but I think she wasn't training some new warriors so she couldn't come."

"I don't need a baby sitter," Katara muttered.

"Of course not," Aang replied, sarcastically. "You were perfectly sane when you decided to throw yourself off a cliff."

"I wasn't going to throw myself off a cliff," Katara protested. "It was an experiment, a twisted experiment."

"Of what? Seeing how fast you'd fall before you killed yourself?"

"No. I was just…"

"Do you have any idea how many times you could have died?"

"Yes," Katara snapped. "I do. And I probably would be dead if you hadn't intervened. Maybe you shouldn't have saved me if you regret it so much."

"Why would I regret it?"

"I don't know."

"You know, if you had jumped, there probably wouldn't be an Avatar."

"What are you talking about?"

"Hey Sokka. I'm really sorry, but Katara jumped off a cliff while I wasn't watching but I'd loved to baby sit another insane waterbender." Aang said, mockingly "He'd murder me if I told him something like that. And it would be _your fault_."

Katara laughed in spite of herself. "I guess it would be my fault, but the Avatar cycle would just continue. But you never answered my question. Why are you here?"

"I told you why."

"You really came all this way just to…?"

"Stop and insane waterbender from throwing herself off a cliff? Yeah, I did."

"Thanks. I know I'm now officially insane." Katara said.

"Yeah, you are."

"Okay, you made_ that _clear," Katara muttered. "I'm leaving."

"Hey, you're still not off the hook for trying to jump off the cliff," Aang said. "Were you trying to kill yourself because that's what it looked like?"

"No," Katara countered. "It was just a stupid thought. I knew you'd stop me before I got to the edge. And I wouldn't have jumped anyway." She smiled smugly.

"How'd you know it was me?" Aang asked.

"How many other people can bend all four elements?"

"Knew I should have just stuck with earthbending," he muttered. But then he brightened. "I'm sure you could have thought of something…less dangerous."

"Well, like you said, I must have been insane because I couldn't think of anything else."

Aang grinned. "Sometimes, Katara, you're an idiot."

"I know," Katara answered, smiling. "And it's _your_ fault."

"Of course," Aang grinned. "Blame everything on the Avatar."

"It's true, though," Katara said. "You know if you hadn't left I might not be doing crazy things to make up for all the boring things I'm doing."

"Is that really why you tried jumping off a cliff?"

Katara shook her head. "I told you; _that _was an experiment, a stupid experiment but like you said, I must be crazy. But it wouldn't have been the first time I jumped off a cliff. I used to do it when we were travelling, remember?"

"Those cliffs were a lot smaller," Aang pointed out. "This is probably the highest one in the Earth Kingdom."

"I don't know," Katara sighed. "Can't we just say I'm insane and leave it at that? I've got something more important to do and I think I'm going to need your help."

"As long as it doesn't involve cliffs or jumping, I'll help."

Katara rolled her eyes but she was grinning. "Think you can hold Sokka down while I murder him for doing this?"

"I'm the Avatar; don't insult me." And smiling, Aang followed Katara home.

* * *

"There is no way we're going to see that," Suki said. "I came here for vacation, not torture."

"This is different," Sokka said, pleading. "Come on. They're on tour right here."

The Kyoshi warrior shook her head. "No way. I don't care if it's a different play in a different place. I refuse to watch any plays with the Ember Island Players."

"They actually improved," Aang said. "Not a lot, but at least now its bearable."

Suki groaned. "Five minutes, Sokka. If I don't like it, then we're leaving."

"Girls," Sokka muttered under his breath as he followed Suki out.

"What's up with him?" Katara asked coming from her room just as Sokka left.

"He and Suki left to see a play."

"Are you leaving too?"

"No," Aang admitted. "Luckily, Zuko and I finished all the work so we get to take a break. Actually, _he _gets to take a break. I'm babysitting. "

"An insane waterbender?" Katara teased.

Aang nodded.

"Well can the insane waterbender say thanks?"

"For what?" Aang said, surprised.

"For making sure I didn't jump off the cliff anyway. I never would have jumped, but it's nice to know people care."

"I'm glad it took you only seven years to figure _that_ out."

"I always knew it but I guess I just stopped believing in it." Katara said. But now she believed again. After all, her guardian was always watching her.

* * *

**A/N**: Hehe...i just realized that that chapter sounded a lot like New Moon (i don't own _that _either and i'm not really into the Twilight series). I wasn't really going for that effect, but oh well. Please review. Thanks.

~ Cassidy


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